Pixiq

It was almost a year ago that I was assaulted by a group of Cuban exiles as I was filming a demonstration on Miami’s famed Calle Ocho.

The Cuban exiles were standing on one side of the street protesting against members of Code Pink, who were standing on the other side of the street demanding the incarceration of Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles.

I was walking back and forth getting footage from both sides of the streets when a group of Cuban exiles confronted me about having spoken to members of Code Pink. They started accusing me of being a communist, a spy for Castro and a chavista, which meant I supported Hugo Chavez.

Rather than dispute those ridiculous claims, I told them I had the right to speak to whomever I wanted. I also defended Code Pink’s right to spew whatever they were spewing as well as the Cuban exiles’ right to spew whatever they were spewing.

And that’s when things got ugly.

That video, which I posted here February 2008 along with photos and commentary from that incident, is one of three Photography is Not a Crime posts from last year that is in the running for the South Florida Daily Blog 2008 Post of the Year contest.

The other two posts are March on Mayors, where I ruined a camera covering a protest in the rain (it was under warranty and repaired free of charge); and The People Have Spoken, where I covered Obama’s victory on election night from the Democratic Headquarters in Miami.

The three blog posts are competing against seven other posts from other South Florida blogs for the best South Florida blog post of the year. But you don’t have to live in South Florida to vote. So check out the contest and cast your vote.